Athletics' Frankie Montas set new career high with 10 strikeouts

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BALTIMORE, MD – APRIL 10: Frankie Montas #47 of the Oakland Athletics pitches in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 10, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

The Oakland Athletics bopped the Tigers again on Friday night in Detroit — their 14th consecutive win over the AL Central club — to pick up another road win, 7-2, behind a dominant performance from starter Frankie Montas.

The swift victory gave Oakland its second road win in a row after entering the series a measly 5-15 away from home and marked the second consecutive outing in which the A’s starting pitcher went longer than eight innings.

Here are three takeaways from another decisive Oakland win over the Tigers:

Montas continues the trend

Say, how about them Oakland A’s starting pitchers? Just one day after Chris Bassit threw eight scoreless innings to stifle the Tigers, Montas (5-2, 2.67 ERA) took the mound and struck out a career-high 10 batters while giving up four hits and two runs in 8.2 innings. Out of the gate, Montas relied on his upper-nineties fastball, which manager Bob Melvin said had the best movement he’s “seen this year,” and fanned four through two innings.

“We knew he had a lot of talent in him, but he’s taking it to another level right now,” Melvin said.

As the game went on, though, Montas mixed in his slider and sinker more often, leading to a whopping 13 outs produced by ground balls.

“I feel like I’ve been getting a lot of ground balls when I put my sinker in the right spot,” Montas said.

The most noticeable advantage that Montas’ diversified arsenal has given him, Melvin said, is that he’s able to fight his way out of trouble.

That held true in the fifth inning Friday, as Montas left runners stranded at the corners after Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera smacked a leadoff double — and ruined Montas’ no-hit bid — and later scored on an RBI double by Josh Harrison.

“That’s one of the biggest differences in him, is before he had trouble stopping it,” Melvin said.

“When they got on him a little bit, he didn’t really have the weapons to go to. So, that confidence and really good stuff is making him the guy that when we traded for him, we thought he had a chance to be.”

An impressive two-game stretch by Oakland’s rotation will be put to the test tomorrow, as Daniel Mengden takes the mound in game three of a four-game series. Mengden made his first appearance on Sunday after being called up from Triple-A Las Vegas, giving up four earned runs and earning a loss in a 5-3 defeat to the Cleveland Indians.

Back, back, back

Through 45 games this season, the A’s were 1-15 when the team doesn’t homer. But that hasn’t been a problem in, of all places, Comerica Park, which A’s pitcher Chad Bassitt described Thursday as “a very nice ballpark to pitch in because it’s so big.”

The A’s followed up a season-tying five home runs on Thursday with two more deep shots on Friday night that brought in four runs, including a 437-foot bomb from Chad Pinder that chased Tigers starter Daniel Norris in the sixth.

Pinder, who’s scorching hot mark of .316 through his first 25 games grinded to a screeching halt with a .156 average over his past 12, was relieved to take advantage of his opportunity.

“Any time you’re contributing, it’s a good feeling,” Pinder said. “You just want to be out there with your boys and your teammates and try to compete.”

What’s even more notable is that of those seven home runs, four have come from the bottom half of the order and another came by way of a pitch-hit appearance. Mark Canha has hit two home runs in consecutive days.

“We got some pretty high-profile guys in the top and the middle, but the bottom makes us who we are,” Melvin said.

Everybody eats

The A’s are starting to feel it. There’s a certain confidence that comes with top-to-bottom production, and for the second straight game, that’s exactly what Oakland got out of its lineup; every starter except Marcus Semien and Josh Phegley crossed home plate Friday night.

“It’s a long road, and we’ve hit some bumps,” Pinder said. “But there is a sense of a little bit of momentum and hopefully we can continue that.”

Even those who aren’t sending the ball deep are beginning to pick things up.

Cleanup hitter Khris Davis, who entered Friday’s contest with a mark of .213 over his last 23 games, knocked three base hits and an RBI. Stephen Piscotty had a double and two hits, making him 6-for-15 with six runs scored and four walks through five games of a nine-game road swing.

“We went through some doldrums as a group,” Melvin said, “but it’s pretty contagious when guys are swinging good and we know we can score anything.”